The Greatest Movie Villains of All Time: 2010's
Masterminding and scheming are the mantra of these villainous favorites. Whether sociopaths or civilians, murdereres or thieves, these villains grace the modern day movie screen with elegance, class, and savagry. As a part of the "Top Ten Greatest Villains of All Time" series, I'm listing some of the most iconic or skillfully portrayed villains of the 2010's. The villains that are included are based on their critical reception, powerful performance, and how much fan love they've received. For the record, no villains done with motion capture, animated villains, or non-human villains, so no Godzilla or Koba. Number 5: Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe, 2011-Present) No company can really define the 2010's quite like the Marvel movie empire, and one of the many reasons they succed are the dedicated fans the series has achieved. And nobody has received quite as much fan love as Loki, the biggest villain in the series so far. Originally just the micheivous little brother of the heir of Asgard, Loki's delusions of granduer combined with his scheming and a skilled portrayal by Tom Hiddelston make him a serious threat to any of the Avengers. His efforts to invade Asgard and Earth are equally hilarious and diabolical. That just makes fan love him more; He tries so hard, but he ends up being like the bad puppy you had as a kid you just pat on the head after they screw up. Number 4: Edwin Epps (12 Years A Slave, 2013) A top-notch performance by one of the decades' most talented and influential actors, Edwin Epps is the epitome of some the horrendous and despicable act of slave owners. What he lacks in charm he more than makes up for in brutality; often raping, flogging, and abusing the slavesthat fail to meet his quota. Inspired because he believes it is his biblical right to treat the slaves so horribly, Epps acts as the ultimate authority against struggling slave Solomon Northup. Fassbender's performance pushed his acting ability on a scale unseen before, and garnered several accolades for this dramatic turn. Number 3: Amy Elliot-Dunne (Gone Girl, 2014) They say keep your friends close, and enemies closer; In Amy Elliot-Dunne's case, the latter extends to lovers as well. With their marriage crumbling and her psyche breaking, Pike's performance as this truly unique sociopath is perhaps one of, if not the, greatest performance of 2014. Being a villain both horribly insane but undeniably relatable, Dunne's character may be a drastically different character from the book, but she still brings that chilling and eerie prescene on the screen. Number 2: Bane (The Dark Knight Rises, 2012) Christopher Nolan's got a knack for creating characters, and this is just one of many examples of such. Another original and interesting take of a classic character, Bane could easily be considered one of the breakthrough performances for decade-defining actor Tom Hardy. Meticilous, malicious, and a muffled English accent all make Bane a scary person to meet. He's a dark mirror image of Batman, who can just as easily take him on in a physical fight as well as a mental one. The Marvel empire might dominate the 2010's, but Nolan's left them with something to contend with because of this performance. Honorable Mentions *Mal Cobb (Inception, ''2010) *President Cornelius Snow (''The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, 2013) *James Coughlin (The Town, 2010) *Raoul Silva (Skyfall, 2012) *Terrence Fletcher (Whiplash, 2014) *Khan (Star Trek Into Darkness, 2013) *Bloodnofsky (The Green Hornet, 2010) Number 1: Calvin J. Candie (Django Unchained, 2012) In the 2000's, Leonardo got our curiosity. But by breaking his typecast as a straight-and-narrow good guy with this vicious and passionate performance in Tarantino's most recent movie, DiCaprio captured our attention. Little people thought DiCaprio could ever play a villain, but his turn as the ignorant and sociopathic slave owner of Candyland plantation proved his dramatic chops. His passion and ability to disappear entirely into the role garned him critical acclaim but few accolades; And that, quite frankly, is a shame. As often being a leading man, this fallback to a supporting role allowed DiCaprio to do something he hasn't done in a long time; Shine.